One of the horror genre's "most widely read critics" (Rue Morgue # 68), "an accomplished film journalist" (Comic Buyer's Guide #1535), and the award-winning author of Horror Films of the 1980s (2007), The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007) and Horror Films of the 1970s (2002), John Kenneth Muir, presents his blog on film, television and nostalgia, named one of the Top 100 Film Studies Blog on the Net.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

RETRO TOY FLASHBACK # 80: Golden Books' The Black Hole Collection

I still remember the day that my grandfather (who passed away in late 2002), purchased this sci-fi movie collectible for me.

It was a hot day in the late summer of 1980 (August, I think...) and my family was spending a week's vacation at the Jersey shore with my grandparents. I was sun-burned, and wanted to play inside.

We all went out to a local five-and-dime store, and my grandfather instructed me to buy anything I wanted...within reason.

Well, I wanted this:

...The Golden Books' The Black Hole omnibus of officially licensed items, which included in one rectangular collectible box a potpourri of goodies including a little Golden Book, a Golden Poster Storybook, a Golden Book of Things to Do, a Press-out Book, a coloring book (with crayons), and two robot puppets.

All of these treasures -- naturally -- related to Gary Nelson's The Black Hole, the notorious and expensive 1979 Disney sci-fi bomb...which I happened to love. And which, beyond all reason, beyond all explanation, I still love. So sue me.

The Black Hole Press-Out Book was my favorite item in this collection. It was a giant over sized book constructed of heavy paper. You could perforate and punch out the various components of the unique space ships seen in the film (including the probe ship, the Palomino, and the mysterious Cygnus), and then put them together to have good-sized replicas.

The robots were also represented in the Press-Out book, and you could stand-up little card-board figures of V.I.N.cent (voiced by Roddy McDowall), Maximillian and even Old B.O.B. (Slim Pickens). Once you were finished poking out the figures, you could put all of these cut-outs against an accurately illustrated backdrop of the multi-story Cygnus command center. Reinhardt's vast command chair and console was also included.

The "Press Out" Robot Puppets were fun too. They were ostensibly "easy to assemble" and the set came with two characters. First was Maximillian, "the sinister robot," and the second was V.I.N.cent, the "lovable" robot from The Black Hole. I remember I did a particularly botched job of assembling V.I.N.cent, which disappointed me no end. He ws my favorite character.

The "Golden Poster Storybook" was this gigantic poster which told the story of the film in glorious, colorful photographs. In the days before VCRs and DVDs, this was priceless (especially as the Black Hole comic-book featured really bad art in which the characters bore no resemblance to their on-screen counterparts).

Yep, this Golden Books toy set was truly "an astronomical assortment of fun that's out of this world." Hard for me to believe I've had the bloomin' thing for about twenty-eight years now.

Jeez, I feel old; like my youth got sucked into a black hole along with that probe ship...

6 comments:

The Black Hole is one of my favourite nostalgic films. Huzzah, I'm not alone anymore. I don't think I've found anyone who likes it.

I used to have the pop-up books and all the rather unsatisfying memorabilia (all I wanted was a Palomino toy or those sentry guns, the latter never made it from the toy prototype and the guns were never even molded for the figures). Now, I simply enjoy the film and hope that one day, they'll remaster the full Barry score rather than the lack lustre LP that was released recently on Itunes.

I think it's actually a pretty decent suspense/mystery set in space right up until the last 10 minutes or so, when the writers suddenly forgot there's no air in space and decided the best way to end the thing would be the recycle the "Night on Bald Mountain" segment from Fantasia.

I've always loved the look and atmosphere of the film, though, and Anthony Perkins' fate was the stuff of childhood nightmares for many years. Even now, the sound effect of his gurgling overlaid with the whirring of Max's blades has the power to raise the hair on my neck...

This article triggered my own memories of grandparents buying me the press-out book, but I don't think I had the other items in that omnibus. I just sent John an email thanking him for opening the floodgates to my own childhood.

To reply to an earlier comment, I learned just the other day that the soundtrack has been remastered, it's now available from Intrada. They say it's "complete" including material that wasn't used in the film!

As for the film itself, I discovered in the late 80's early 90's that it's actually much more entertaining to just watch the old VHS in fast-forward. Much better pace, and none of the verbosity. ;)

That didn't stop me from buying it (twice) on DVD, though.

TRON: Legacy director Joe Kasinski (sp?) is rumored to be planning a remake. Did you spot the poster and Old Bob Kubrick in Sam Flynn's 80's bedroom?

I'm a huge fan of The Black Hole myself. I can't count the number of times I've watched it over the years. There's something about the mood and tone of the film I just love, and the music and effects are still fantastic to this day. It's been at least a couple years now since I've seen it, and I keep putting off another viewing hoping that a Blu-ray will be announced. Maybe if the remake gets done, that will prompt a Blu-ray release like the new Tron film did.

One thing I realized watching Black Hole as an adult is that it's actually a horror movie masquerading as a a sci-fi movie. It's the classic set-up. A group of travelers come upon a a creepy old house/castle. Toss in a mad scientist, his creepy assistant, and what turn out to be essentially zombies.

About John

award-winning author of 27 books including Horror Films FAQ (2013), Horror Films of the 1990s (2011), Horror Films of the 1980s (2007), TV Year (2007), The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007), Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair (2006),, Best in Show: The Films of Christopher Guest and Company (2004), The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi (2004), An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith (2002), The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film & Television (2004), Exploring Space:1999 (1997), An Analytical Guide to TV's Battlestar Galactica (1998), Terror Television (2001), Space:1999 - The Forsaken (2003) and Horror Films of the 1970s (2002).

Follow by Email

What the Critics Say...

"...some of the best writing about the genre has been done by John Kenneth Muir. I am particularly grateful to him for the time and attention he's paid to things others have overlooked, under-appreciated and often written off. His is a fan's perspective first, but with a critic's eye to theme and underscore, to influence and pastiche..." - Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files, in the foreword to Horror Films FAQ (October 2013).

"Hands down, John Kenneth Muir is one of the finest critics and writers working today. His deep analysis of contemporary American culture is always illuminating and insightful. John's film writing and criticism is outstanding and a great place to start for any budding writer, but one should also examine his work on comic books, TV, and music. His weighty catalog of books and essays combined with his significant blog production places him at the top of pop culture writers. Johns work is essential in understanding the centrality of culture in modern society." - Professor Bob Batchelor, cultural historian and Executive Director of the James Pedas Communication Center at Thiel College (2014).

"...an independent film scholar, [Muir] explains film studies concepts in a language that is reader-friendly and engaging..." (The Hindu, 2007)"...Muir's genius lies in his giving context to the films..." (Choice, 2007)